🇰🇵🇰🇷🇺🇸 North Korea may test ICBM soon, South official says

North Korea may test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) this month, a senior South Korean official said on Friday before discussions with US officials on responses to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons threats.

Kim Tae-hyo, South Korea's deputy national security adviser, declined to elaborate on the basis of his comments but said North Korea's ballistic missiles are the focus of Washington's "extended deterrence" strategy.

Kim is in Washington for the second round of the Nuclear Consultative Group talks on Friday, high-level discussions between the leaders of South Korea and the United States aimed at coordinating the extended deterrence strategy.

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🇰🇵🇨🇳 North Korea delegation in China for talks

A North Korean diplomatic delegation is visiting China for talks on strengthening cooperation, North Korean state media said.

North Korean Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Pak Myong Ho and counterpart Sun Weidong discussed boosting strategic cooperation and bilateral relations on Friday, KCNA said in a statement.

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🇰🇵 North Korea fires ICBM

North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on Monday that has a range to hit anywhere in the United States, said South Korea and Japan, marking its second launch in hours.

South Korea's National Security Council said it was a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), labelling the launch a destabilizing act that ignored international warnings and multiple UN Security Council resolutions.

Monday's missile launch came after North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday night, flying about 570 km and falling into the ocean.

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🇰🇷🇰🇵 Troops on South Korean side re-arm at border village amid tensions with North

International troops stationed on the South Korean side of the truce village of Panmunjom on the border with North Korea who had been unarmed can resume carrying guns, the United Nations Command (UNC) said on Tuesday.

The US-led UNC is a multinational military force and oversees affairs in the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war.

The decision this month to allow UNC troops to carry guns came after North Korean soldiers of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) had resumed "an armed security posture" in the area, said Colonel Isaac Taylor, the spokesperson for the UNC.

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🇰🇵 North Korea says Hwasong-18 ICBM test was response to US hostility

North Korea said on Tuesday it had tested the isolated state's newest ICBM on Monday to gauge the war readiness of its nuclear force against mounting U.S. hostility.

North Korean state media said leader Kim Jong Un watched Monday's launch of the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile at a site east of the capital, Pyongyang.

Kim said the launch sends "a clear signal to the hostile forces, who have fanned up their reckless military confrontation hysteria" against the North, state news agency KCNA reported.

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🇰🇵 Second North Korean nuclear reactor appears to be operational

A new reactor at North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex appears to be operating for the first time, the UN nuclear watchdog and independent experts said, which would mean an additional potential source of plutonium for nuclear weapons.

The IAEA says it has observed a strong outflow of water from the light-water reactor's cooling system since October, suggesting ongoing commissioning of the reactor. More recent indications are that the water was warm.

Researchers at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California also concluded the reactor is most likely operating, adding that it may be "a significant source of nuclear material" for the nuclear weapons program.

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🇰🇷🇰🇵 South Korea stages independent tabletop exercise simulating DPRK nuclear attack

South Korea staged an independent tabletop exercise simulating a North Korean nuclear attack this year as part of efforts to hone response capabilities against the North's military threats, the defense ministry said.

The ministry noted the discussion-based exercise as one of its key accomplishments this year in a meeting presided over by Defense Minister Shin Won-sik to evaluate progress in the Defense Innovation 4.0 plan.

The exercise took place in August during major summertime drills between South Korea and the United States, discussing retaliatory measures against a North Korean nuclear attack and calculating damage in such a scenario.

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🇺🇸🇰🇵 US concerned over North Korea's commissioning light-water reactor

The United States has expressed serious concern over North Korea showing signs of starting the operation of a new light-water nuclear reactor in a possible attempt to produce nuclear weapons fuel.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said that the agency has detected more signs of the North commissioning the light-water reactor at the North's main Yongbyon nuclear complex.

The North's "commissioning of a new light-water nuclear power plant raises serious concerns, including safety," the US Mission to the United Nations in Vienna said in a statement. "The DPRK's unlawful nuclear & ballistic missile programs continue to pose a grave threat to international peace & security."

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🇰🇵 North Korea to convene plenary meeting of ruling party this week

North Korea is set to hold a key party meeting this week amid expectations that its leader Kim Jong-un will likely reaffirm a hard-line stance against the United States and unveil plans to strengthen its military capabilities.

The North's state media earlier reported the country will convene the ninth plenary meeting of the eighth central committee of the ruling Workers' Party late in December to review this year's state policies and set policy goals for next year.

In recent years, the North's leader has used a year-end party plenary meeting as a venue to deliver his major speech to replace his annual New Year's Day address.

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🇰🇷🇰🇵 South Korea sanctions 8 North Koreans over arms trade, cyberattacks

South Korea imposed sanctions on eight North Koreans linked to nuclear and missile development through arms trade, cyberattacks and other illicit activities.

The newly blacklisted people include Ri Chang Ho, head of the Reconnaissance General Bureau involved in overseas hacking operations, and Yun Chol, who helped supply nuclear materials while working at the North Korean Embassy in China, the ministry said.

"The eight were involved in generating profits for the North Korean regime and financing nuclear weapons and missiles development by earning foreign currency through illegal cyber activities or stealing technology and trading sanctioned goods including weapons," it said in a statement.

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